On Saturday 6th April, we arranged a day of guided mountain biking for a couple from Valencia.  This was part of a surprise weekend break, and included two nights at the rural guest house La Casona Ferrando in our home village of La Drova. Fernando and Vibrana were new to mountain biking so we opted for a beautiful route that passes through a wooded limestone gorge, not technical but sufficiently challenging to provide a great environment in which to learn some basic off-road techniques. After the usual safety briefing, we began with a gentle trail before taking on a steep [read more]

On 28th March, we arranged a day of guided mountain biking for a Dutch couple who were taking a short break in the city of Valencia and wanted to make the most of the region´s beautiful mountains. They took the train from Valencia to Gandia, passing through the natural park and rice fields of Albufera along the way.  We met in Gandia and made the short road journey to the start of the route in the La Safor mountains.  Although both very active people, they were new to mountain biking, so the day commenced with a brief safety demonstration, and [read more]

I´m going to begin this post by thanking my three clients for a superb week of guided mountain biking in Valencia. This was the second trip in little over a year for two of them, especially gratifying as they´re from Montreal, Canada! It was great to see them all and to enjoy a week together, biking, chatting, and enjoying the wine and tapas of the area. We had designed a bespoke package that included 6 nights at the Casa Rural Villa Florencia in Marxuquera, and 5 full days of guided mountain biking. After such a long journey, day one was [read more]

On Saturday 24th November we arranged a guided mountain bike trip for a group from UK who were visiting a friend in the city of Valencia.  All experienced mountain bikers, they wanted to combine a short city break with a day of guided biking.  After a brief introduction and summary of the plans for the day we began the route with a gentle climb over a pass. We soon left the road and took to the trails, initially along a wooded track before beginning the day´s longest climb up trail that put us on top of the Sierra de Marxuquera. [read more]

As part of the bespoke activity holiday that we´ve recently designed for Anne & Nigel from UK, we provided what is becoming an increasingly popular choice – a day of guided cross country mountain biking that included a few sessions of skills coaching.  Anne was particularly interested in developing her technique of descending rocky tracks. With that in mind we started the day with a sustained climb up onto the Sierra de Marxuquera, and up onto a trail that would provide some great descents.  Having spent some time perfecting body posture and braking and steering techniques we enjoyed the sweeping [read more]

We have recently arranged a week´s activity holiday for Anne and Nigel from Worcester, UK.  Together, we designed a bespoke package that included guided mountain biking and mountain walking. They stayed at the guest house Villa Florencia, situated in the beautiful valley of Marxuquera.  During the “welcome dinner” on the evening of their arrival we discussed the various options for the week.  Although both were very experienced outdoor enthusiasts we opted for a relatively gentle ride for the first day – a route of some 36km through a very pretty limestone gorge. We set out along a wooded trail before [read more]

On Saturday 10th November we provided a full day of guided mountain biking for a couple from Madrid. Both very fit and active, Baas was already an experienced mountain biker and had recently built his own bike. Lisa was relatively new to the sport so was keen to learn some technique. They had chosen to spend the night at Casa Aldomar in the beautiful old town of Xativa and as they only had one day in the area, we opted for a long ride with some technical training built into the day. We began with a brief demonstration of bike [read more]

Last weekend I had the pleasure of meeting Perrine and Laurens from Belgium.  They had recently contacted me to arrange a weekend in our area as part of a longer stay in the Valencia region. Having listened to their plans, I suggested a package offer that combined pick-up from the local railway station, 2 nights accommodation at a local country guest house, a day of guided mountain biking and drop-off at their next hotel.  Having agreed terms, they made the reservation and soon after I met them at Gandia railway station. They spent their weekend at the guest house “Casona [read more]

Last week, having spent a few days out in the hills with clients I was in the mood for a long ride with a difference. Most of my clients are looking for cross country mountain bike routes, although from time to time, some clients tend to look for something without the technical challenges of off-road riding but still want a long day out.   With this in mind, I wanted to work on a route that would offer something completely different – and with huge variety. Essentially, I wanted to design a route that would begin in the countryside of [read more]